Aquaculture Fish Welfare Monitoring Technology

Technology for monitoring fish welfare in aquaculture is advancing rapidly, offering practical tools to detect stress, disease, and poor conditions at scale.

Key Facts

Computer vision systems can detect abnormal swimming behaviour, surface-breathing, and skin lesions in salmon
Hydroacoustic sensors monitor fish activity and schooling patterns as welfare indicators
iFarm and similar systems use AI to track individual fish welfare across production cycles
Oxygen, temperature, and CO2 sensors provide real-time water quality data linked to welfare thresholds
Welfare monitoring data is increasingly integrated with farm management systems for responsive management

Welfare Considerations

Fish welfare monitoring technology enables more frequent, objective, and scalable welfare assessment than human observation alone; its adoption should be incentivised through certification and regulation.

What You Can Do

Support aquaculture certification schemes that incorporate technology-based welfare monitoring
Advocate for welfare monitoring technology requirements in aquaculture licensing
Choose fish products from certified farms with documented welfare monitoring systems